God-Machine
by TimeForced
Summary: There are many ancient secrets in the Universe: humanity was lucky enough to run across two of the oldest.


**_Disclaimer: I own neither Evangelion nor Mass Effect._**

_So, I got this idea in my head, and it went like this. "Wouldn't it be awesome if humanity got back up after Third Impact? Imagine all of the new technologies and philosophies that would result from those who left the collective conscious or whatever the AT/LCL sea was! And then, imagine the impact they would have on the Mass Effect 'verse!"_

_Anyways, I decided to write a one-shot that put some of it down on paper, and I think it was pretty cool._

_So have fun._

* * *

On the first day of the First Contact War, three research vessels were destroyed by the Turian patrols.

On the second, the final vessel reached Shanxi and it pilot broadcasted a general warning prior to expiring, the rents in the ship piercing all the way to his piloting capsule.

On the third day, a Turian Quick Reaction force arrived in orbit over the small colony, which possessed a population of one thousand.

On the fourth, Turian troops made planetfall, finding the population of the colony to be entirely absent and the buildings filled with the evidence of rushed departure.

On the fifth day, Turian forces managed to crack the computer systems of the colony and find a star map of the surprisingly small stellar population of the race which called itself "humanity."

On the sixth, they prepared to advance towards their next target, reinforcements arriving to fortify the system.

On the seventh, their remains rested in the orbit and on the ground of the frontier garden world.

* * *

"Excuse me, but is it true that you can affect other's AT fields?"

John Shepard glanced at the UC Marine who had come up to talk to him. A quick glance showed him as a Private with the slightly personalized gear common throughout the United Colonial Armed Forces. The viewport behind showed the colossal remains of Lilith, always drawing the eye of everyone in orbit or within ten thousand kilometers of the epicenter of Third Impact.

John sighed, knowing he would have to answer the question the same as always. "That's classified."

Really, the idea that anything could or even should be kept classified was ridiculous these days. Besides, it's not as if he was even particularly unique in that regard. Nearly all small arms in the UC military branches affected AT fields in some manner. It was more humane.

Not that any of the other races in the galaxy thought so. They were horrified at the prospect of being "turned into a pile of goo" as they so often put it.

A slight commotion distracted him from the nodding Marine, who had taken John's response as an affirmative. Just like everyone else who had ever asked the question.

The commotion resolved itself as a Captain walking through the station in orbit of Earth, and both John and the Marine snapped off salutes.

The Captain paused and returned the salute, "At ease." He turned to face John, "Admiral Hackett wishes to see you, Commander Shepard."

The two fell in as John nodded and followed the Captain down the metal walkways. "Names David Anderson."

John smiled slightly. "You were in command of the flotilla when we ran into that Thresher Maw on Akuze, weren't you, sir."

A return smirk. "That I was. By the way, what's the status on your unit."

Shepard's smile turned into more of a grimace. "Not so good, sir. Three have been brought out of stasis and are undergoing rehabilitation, the rest are still recovering. I got them out...but most of them left to much behind to recover properly."

Anderson nodded, commiserating with the situation. "Always sad when good men die. You should be proud that you got most of their souls out of there the way you did, few enough can claim the same."

Shepard snorted. "Damn right. I can't believe now barbaric most of the races are. They won't even believe us about AT fields, when the evidence is absolutely everywhere."

A silence descended over the two, broken only by the clank of boots on metal gratings and the occasional passerby. Eventually, Anderson broke the still atmosphere. "I think it's because it's horrifying. It's even worse than having your religion refuted, it's like having your entire world blown open to see the dark monsters that exist out there in all their terrifying glory. We're preaching to the Romans, and they aren't happy with our message."

Raising an eyebrow, Shepard hummed. "How d'you figure that, sir?"

The Captain paused outside a set of doors that led to the Admirals office. He contemplated the grating for a second, attempting to find the words. When he did, he looked up and locked eyes with Shepard, "Because we've basically told them that we're nigh-immortal, Commander. We've got scientific proof that the soul exists, that we can render sentient beings into still-living primordial fluid, and that we consider the removal of individuality to be the ultimate ascendance at the end of a long life."

There was a silence, a few passing Marines pausing at the statement, before Anderson finished. "Wouldn't you be terrified, son?"

* * *

When Sovereign, the Reaper vanguard, assaulted Eden Prime he enjoyed quick success. He was pleased, for the knowledge that his puppet Saren had gathered upon these humans was...disturbing. Even as old as the Reapers were, they had never met a race which was aware of this AT field, the soul, or even the supposed life bearers named Adam and Lilith.

As it was, the use of the synthetic geth proved to be an incredible boon, for the primary weaponry of the colony's defenders was useless against them.

Until one of those cursed Evangelion units showed up.

Why the humans had one of those on a frontier world like this was unfathomable, but Sovereign was annoyed.

Well, at least it was an opportunity to test these supposedly invincible war machines.

Without warning, a _spear _came whistling out of the sky and pierced his barrier as if it wasn't even there.

The ancient Reaper roared, infuriated that a weapon as primitive as that broke a defense that turned aside entire fleets. The advancing machine, so much smaller than he himself was, could only have delivered a greater insult if it had thrown a _river pebble_ at him. To think that the tool of one of the rock and stone primitive races was the equal of a Reaper: it was ridiculous.

In retaliation, Sovereign fired the weapons on his tentacles, looking to bisect the rushing biological giant, so puny in comparison to Sovereign's own two kilometer height. The molten metal was stopped for over ten seconds, meeting a barrier that had never before been encountered.

The energy readings that emanated from the red bipedal construct were like nothing the Reaper had ever seen, though the closest he could compare it too was the progenitors in whose image the Reapers were made.

His attack finally broke the hexagonal field, but the creature was already sprinting off to the side, hand held out.

Sovereign felt a _tug_ and listed to the side, internal structure squealing as the spear was removed. He roared in rage, and even the geth, who possessed no ears to damage, cowered and shrieked.

The molothic dreadnought advanced, his central beam firing and scouring the landscape. A mountain was reduced to molten rock, the fields turned to ash and the forests a blazing ruin for miles around.

Like a fire cast from the heavens, the grayish spear descended from on high glowing the deep red of an angry god. Guided unerringly by the hundred year old Eva and its integrated pilot, the replica Spear of Longinus slammed home with a hurricane forming in its wake, the thin spiral vortex extending up to space from where it had descended.

Sovereign crashed to the dirt in a welter of debris, his roar of rage turning into a screech of anguish.

The Evangelion stepped out from the landscape, pulling out a massive pistol that put to shame most frigate mass accelerators. Advancing with cautious steps that merely crackled over the landscape instead of boomed, the all purpose war machine and construction wonder came to a stop just out of reach of the furious Reaper.

The two collosal beings watched each other, until the Eva held out its hand and the Spear tore from the center of Sovereign with a screech of shattered metal that could be heard in the colony ten kilometers away.

Sovereign struggled against his own broken structure and the pressure exerted by the creatures AT field.

As the Eva brought up the Spear for a final thrust, Sovereign resorted to his last hope and engaged his indoctrination engine, hoping to overwhelm the creature's mind.

He crashed into something as vast as he himself was, yet so much more complete.

It was like looking at what he could never be, and for the first time, the synthetic dreadnought found himself envying a biological race.

"What are you?"

Two voices, that were really one, answered him. "We are the union of the Fruit of Life and the Fruit of Knowledge. You could never hope to match the inheritors of both Adam and Lilith."

Sovereign listened to this creature, so different from any he had yet encountered. "Is that so. In that case, I must tell you that you will be harvested to create the next Reapers. You are a strong race, but the cycle has continued for time immemorial, billions of years. You cannot hope to stop us."

"The roots of our origin lie in the origin of life itself. We will live, as you have not the means to destroy us."

Sovereign hummed, feeling its 'life' fade. This harvest would be most interesting for his brethren.

Eva-02, cloned and recreated using the original pilot, hummed in its deep, yet human voice. "So the god-machines shall fight the end once more."


End file.
